Preliminary Afghan presidential election results show Abdullah Abdullah ahead, indicate runoff

KABUL – Preliminary results in Afghanistan’s presidential election show former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah won the most votes but not the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

The chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani, said Saturday that Abdullah had 44.9 per cent of the vote and ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai came in second with 31.5 per cent. The preliminary results are due to be finalized on May 14 after investigations into fraud complaints.

Electoral law requires a runoff between the top two candidates if no one candidate gets a majority. A runoff should be held within 15 days of final results.

The candidates are vying to replace President Hamid Karzai, the only president Afghans have known since the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban’s hard-line Islamic regime.